Memorial Day was also National Bath Bomb Day

Happy National Bath Bomb Day! Monday was not only Memorial Day, it was also National Bath Bomb Day. Bath Bomb Day’s purpose is to have a day dedicated to relaxing. 

Hannah Stober, the manager at Buff City in Cedar Falls, said, “We have probably, I want to say, 12 scents to choose from. They all come in different sorts of scents. There’s many set options, but it’s all plant-based. Mica is the coloring that we use, so there’s no dye, so it’s great for people for sensitivity. There’s cocoa butter, shea butter in it, so it’s really good for people with dry skin. But yes, around eight to 12 scents off the top of my head.”

Stober explained mica is a plant-based powder, so it’s actually free of dye, so it’s really good for people with sensitivities that still want color in their bath to make it fun.

The busiest time of the year Stober said is “ooh, Christmas, for sure, especially Black Friday, so like right after Thanksgiving, it is busy, busy, busy.”

Bath bombs were created in 1989 by Mo Constantine, a co-founder of Lush Cosmetics. She wanted to enjoy a bath without skin irritation happening from the bubble bath. After awareness came from the bath bomb, not irritating skin, the popularity grew. Bath bombs were inspired by the fizzing action of Alka Seltzer when it dissolves. Allka Seltzer is a medication that is used for heartburn. 

To use a bath bomb, Stober said, “Once your bath water has reached your max capacity that you’re kind of looking for. So when it’s full, go in, drop the bath bomb in, enjoy your experience.”

The soaking time varies depending on your choice, Stober said. “It’s truthfully kind of up to your preference.
If you want to soak in a bath for 30 minutes, you absolutely can do, so that’s the honor of it being plant-based is that it’s not going to harm you, so if you take an hour-long bath, go for it. 
But truthfully, I kind of just say once the fizz fizzles out, so around 20 minutes, max maybe, but again, up to your personal preference.” 

In the 2000s, bath bombs were a big success in the beauty and wellness industry. Since then, they have strived to make more, continuing the popularity of bath bombs, increasing with posts and videos showing the creation as you let it sit.

Three words Stober uses to describe bath bombs are, “fun, colorful and moisturizing.” Regarding what bath bombs provide, Stober said, “They provide moisture. We actually consider it a moisturizing fizz because of the cocoa butter, shea butter and olive oil, so it’s gonna be extremely hydrating.
Some people call it like a butter bath because when you get out, you’re super soft.”

Stober’s favorite set of bath bombs at Buff City is “Pink sugar, and I could talk about it all day. 
It smells like cotton candy. It’s amazing.”

They can be made with lots of different things, but for sue just need two ingredients: baking soda and citric acid. Popular things to put in the bath bomb are epsom or sea salt, different-smelling bath oils and bubble bars. 

If Stober were to design a bath bomb she said the outside would be “Pink, pink, pink, pink, and … really glittery. For the scent, she said “Well, we just launched alter ego, so that’s my new favorite scent right now, so I’d probably do alter ego and pink sugar together.”

Stober recommends, “If you want to spice it up, I would probably say the Fruity Loopy. It smells like you’re bathing in a bowl of fruit loops, so it’s kind of fun and great for kids.”

Stober said the shelf life of a bath bomb is “12 months, so you can have it there and you can honestly use it to smell up your bathroom, too.”